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Great Lakes plastics pollution: Don't miss this talk

A researcher scientist who help document the presence of extensive plastics pollution in the Great Lakes will speak about her findings next Monday, April 14, at a public meeting in Henrietta. Sherri Mason, an

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A research scientist who help document the presence of extensive plastics pollution in the Great Lakes will speak about her findings next Monday, April 14, at a public meeting in Henrietta.

Sherri Mason, an associate professor of chemistry at the State University College at Fredonia, worked with the 5 Gyres Institute and students from Fredonia to collect surface water samples in the Great Lakes in 2012 and 2013. A study published last year documented that many samples were filled with tiny plastic particles. Much of the material is thought to come from personal-care products that contain plastic beads meant to act as exfolliants.

The greatest concentrations found in that study were in Lake Erie. Mason and her crew subsequently trolled in Lake Ontario and found particles there as well. The groundbreaking research has already prompted some manufacturers to halt the use of plastic beads in their products. More work on that front is needed, though.

This is a do-not-miss talk for anyone interested in Great Lakes water quality issues. I had the opportunity to meet Mason last fall when we served on a panel at Greentopia, and found her exceptionally knowledgeable and engaging. Her passion is not just for plastics in the Great Lakes but for plastic pollution in a broader sense.

Mason is is speaking at the annual meeting of the Rochester Committee for Scientific Information at 7 pm on April 14. (If you do not know it, RCSI, as the group is known, has been studying and reporting on environmental issues here for 50 years.)

The meeting will be at Rochester Institute of Technology's Carlson Auditorium, in the Carlson Building on the north side of campus. Parking is available in Lot F. (Don't know RIT? Here's a map.)